1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to a waste toner storage unit for recovering waste toner, and an image forming apparatus having a waste toner storage unit detachably mountable to the image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile, a printer, a plotter, or a multifunctional apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, a size of image forming apparatuses using electrophotography becomes smaller and smaller with a trend of energy saving and occupying space saving, wherein such image forming apparatuses may be a copier, a facsimile, a printer, a plotter, or multifunctional apparatus having a plurality of functions. Such an image forming apparatus has a plurality of internally disposed units or internal parts therein, such as a container for recovering waste toner not used for an image forming operation (hereinafter, “waste toner bottle”).
Although a size of the image forming apparatus becomes smaller, an amount of waste toner generated by an image forming process may not be reduced just by reducing the size of the image forming apparatus. Further, a user wants a waste toner bottle having a longer replacement cycle in view of usability of image forming apparatus. Accordingly, a size of the waste toner bottle may not become so small, and as a result, a relative occupying volume space of the waste toner bottle in an image forming apparatus becomes greater.
Further, in a conventional image forming apparatus, when an outer cover of an image forming apparatus is opened, a user may see an inner cover, which covers internal parts (e.g., steel plate, harness) so that the user does not see the internal parts, which may be a visually unattractive portion. Accordingly, the inner cover is used to enhance product appearance quality by providing a visually eye pleasing part inside the image forming apparatus.
In general, the above mentioned waste toner bottle is not devised as a visually eye pleasing part because the waste toner bottle is devised as a functional component. However, with a trend of enhancing product appearance quality even internal to the apparatus, the waste toner bottle may also need to be designed as a visually eye pleasing part. Conventionally, an outer cover and waste toner bottle of an image forming apparatus may be coupled to each other by an interlock mechanism. When such outer cover is opened, a waste toner bottle may also be separated or disengaged from an internal structure of the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, such a waste toner bottle may not be used as an inner cover, and a user that opens the outer cover may see the internal structure, which is not visually eye pleasing, and thereby product appearance quality of the image forming apparatus may not be pleasantly perceived.
Further, with a trend of an increased size of the waste toner bottle, a distribution equalization part, such as paddle, may need to be installed inside the waste toner bottle to evenly distribute recovered toner in the waste toner bottle. However, once the waste toner bottle is sealed by a cover after installing parts in the waste toner bottle, it becomes difficult to check whether parts are suitably installed in the waste toner bottle. If such internal checking is not easily conducted, defectively assembled products may be shipped. Further, with a trend of a relatively increased size of the waste toner bottle, a total cost of using the waste toner bottle may undesirably increase if the waste toner bottle may be discarded as a disposable unit once the waste toner bottle is filled with waste toner, and such discarding may not be environment friendly.